Stronger Hearts
by Dawnheart98
Summary: Remember the chaos and threats coming from all sides? Well, here it is. Will Hinata's and Naruto's love survive? Sequel to "Changing Hearts"
1. Chapter 1

**PROLOUGE**

The blazing, setting sun shot warm streaks of red, orange and purple throughout the sky. The clouds tinted warm colors and the only part of the sky with a remotely blue color was the far, Eastern horizon. Two figures were watching the sunset from a rooftop. From one side, they were only black shadows, melting together as one. There was a boy and a girl. The boy's silhouette showcased his lean and muscular body. His shadow had a spiky top, due to his pointed hair. The girl was shorter in comparison, but you could not tell that from the shadow. Half of her body was concealed by the boy's shadow.

"Th-th-this is really g-great…" the girl whispered almost inaudibly. The boy had unconsciously trained himself to hear her soft voice. He had no trouble hearing at all.

"I thought you might like it," the boy whispered, in a low voice.

There was silence, but only their words had quieted. Their thoughts drifted around their minds, creeping away, then coming back, and cycling. The boy brought his face closer to the girl's and the girl cast her eyes downward. She felt the too-familiar blush coming up, and she tried to stop it. Her efforts were cut in half because her mind was too occupied with the boy who was inches away. The boy tilted his face forward and the girl felt her heart pounding louder than it had before. She waited and waited until she couldn't take the suspense anymore.

**CHAPTER ONE**

Two pairs of eyes watched from a distance. It was a bit creepy, even stalker-ish, but they were all ninjas. If they were good for nothing else, it was spying. The two owners of the eye pairs were not aware of each other, for they were some distance apart, but both had the same vehement hatred and jealously. Neither of them would admit it, to anyone or to themselves. Both pairs of eyes were black, and both had black hair. The similarities stopped there.

One pair of black eyes was glaring intently at the couple on the roof, his slits for eyes becoming even thinner with anger. His tan, sharp angular face was hidden behind the leaves of a creeping plant. He brushed back his long, thick black bangs that were close to his forehead. Jealously boiled in him, though it would take him some while to admit it. What made the boy cuddled with her better than himself? He would normally find Naruto to be an agreeable person most of the time but the eyes blinded by hate could not see clearly. He remembered with aversion the similarities between himself and the other boy that many people had mentioned. Now he could not stand those comments. If they were so _the same_ what made that other boy so much more appealing than himself? The boy bared his teeth, feeling something feral in him trying to claw its way out. He felt so, so tempted to just let it out, plunge into battle head-first and let his instincts lead the way. He knew instincts weren't always logical. When you experienced both firsthand, you knew that they were two different things.

Behind all the rage, the boy felt a weaker feeling lurking. By weaker, he did not mean less potent or less dominant. By weaker, he meant the way it made him feel—weak, helpless, diminutive. What right did That Boy have to come in and steal Her away? _I'm the one who was with her since the beginning. We've gone on so many more missions together than That Boy and Her have. Does all of that erase away just like that? Was that not valid at all, like I thought it was?_ New thoughts—useless ones—such as _It's not fair_, and _Why me_, came into his head. They beguiled him to shrink back, escape away to a hideout, and wallow in misery. It was so enticing, so easy. He wouldn't have to do anything. Just wallow. _Doesn't wallowing sound so good right now? _He asked himself.

But he didn't want to do _nothing. _That's why those thoughts were useless! This was just like any mission—except it was solely for his benefit. He wouldn't have Shino there to carefully pick apart each portion of the mission and create steps to achieve the goal. He would have to do that himself. He wasn't the planning type, or the organized type, but he would have to be. He would have to be an entire ninja squad in one person. The boy shot one last glare at the couple in the sunset. Malicious thoughts swirled inside the boy's head. He savored them. _Let this be your last night together._

The other pair of dark eyes stared at the couple in the sunset with considerably less obvious emotion. If there was a jutsu to see the emotions behind a ninja's cold, stone-set face, one would see the battle of emotions behind the night-black eyes. There were fiery spurts inside the boy. _How dare they thwart my plan? This is what the world has some to? Forget that baka being Hokage, I have to set things right! _There were sinking pits of quicksand inside him as well. _Things will never be the same again. This is it. The moment we've all been dreaded, yet were sure would never happen. Agony, agony! Woe on me! This has brought me down to a disgusting low damsel in distress level! Woe, woe, woe! _

The boy, so used to being on top, the Alpha, the head of the class, could not understand how his life could spiral downwards in _more than one area! _Sure, he used to be immature and hate on his older brother but _they were over that_! So, always there had to be one thing in his life that was awful? _No! I won't stand for it! Or sit or jump or kick or kill!_ The boy's thoughts halted, and he narrowed his eyes prudently. _Kill? _What a _tantalizing_ option. But tantalizing was right. It was just out of reach, too far-fetched to be seriously considered. He would never sink that low again—to kill for something such a softhearted reason. It didn't sit well. At least before he had only committed to following his greed and hatred. This…could be possibly embarrassing, and/or life threatening. Well, if he was going to take a practical stand on this, he would have to think harder. That thought triggered something else in his mind, which made him brighten—a little. _If I take the sensible approach, well, that will be more than my…_rivals_ will take! _

The boy nodded to himself. His first plan hadn't worked out as beautifully as he had imagined. Maybe he had put too much faith in his pawns. He had learned his lesson—the hard way. He must never make the mistake of making mistakes again. Why should suffer for himself, when plenty of other people had suffered before him? He would just laugh at their stupidity and take the easy way out. The easy way _could_ be the best way.

The boy narrowed his eyes at the couple in the sunset. He could and would put faith in his queen. In fact, pawns could graduate into queens. Maybe he shouldn't throw them all away from his focus—maybe one or two special pawns would be useful. _Watch out, Nara_, he thought censoriously. _You're not the only man of depravity, discordant to the soft Konaha ways! _At least Sasuke was willing to work for his goals—or at least make others work for him. Nara was too lazy to even try the latter!

Yes, Sasuke deplored his previous plan. It was cursory. He would not curtail his plan time now. He would be as contentious, as evil, as wrong as he could be! He smiled in complacency. _Watch out, Konoha. This is a storm you have never seen before. _


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Hinata stood near the thick wall-climbing vines just before her house. She was standing in front of Naruto, in his arms, bidding him farewell for the night.

"You won't get in trouble, will you?" Naruto asked, eyebrows knit in worry.

Hinata looked up at him lovingly. She still couldn't believe that he was _hers_. She wasn't just pretending now. When Naruto looked at her, touched her, or spoke to her, she would know it was on purpose. Now, he was worrying for her. She knew that he was asking about her father, and possible her cousin as well. She felt a flicker of worry but tried to melt it away with Naruto's warmth.

"I should be okay," Hinata said, feeling a prickle of guilt and sanity spark in her, but she tried to smother it with her adrenaline rush. Being with Naruto felt so right, and yet so wrong. When she was with him, she felt like nothing in the world could go wrong. They were so happy, and so perfect for each other. But some rational, grounded part of Hinata kept sparking up and ruining her fun, her happiness. She tried to subdue it, but usually, the later at night it was, the stronger the wary feelings were.

"Go, now," Naruto said, stroking Hinata's hair, before hugging her one last time. It was too short, and Hinata was grateful and wistful at the same time. She knew that every second spent outside her house was giving her more of a chance to get in trouble, but she wanted to be in Naruto's presence for as long as she possibly could.

"Okay," Hinata heard herself say. Somehow, she turned around, and ran silently up the path towards her house. She turned back and saw empty sidewalk where Naruto had been standing seconds before. Emptiness moved into her heart, mirroring that of the sidewalk. She almost floated up to the front door and opened it. A bright light shone in her face, making her squint her eyes, and turn away.

"Hello, Hinata."

Hinata felt icy spikes go through her heart. She was literally frozen in fear. Neji's expressionless voice seared through her self-confidence and she hoped she wouldn't start crying in shame. She wanted to reply, but couldn't. Her throat closed up as if she was having an allergic reaction to the guilt welling up inside her.

"Why don't you come in?" Neji asked, like Hinata was overreacting to nothing. _Maybe I am_, Hinata thought shakily. Somehow, she couldn't convince herself, anymore than she usually could, at least. Hinata tried to nod, but was sure that Neji hadn't noted the effort. The brown haired boy stepped aside, letting Hinata into the house. Her eyes had adjusted to the light again, but Hinata almost wished they hadn't. Neji's plain, vacant, pale eyes bored into her like laser beams and they seared Hinata's skin. Seemingly innocent, but probably noted where Hinata's clothes were wrinkled, and the smell on her skin, and the lingering blush in her cheeks… Neji turned around and walked into the house. Hinata was forced to follow him.

"Where have you been?" Neji asked, filling a glass with water and handing it to Hinata. Her hand was shaking dangerously, and the glass cup seemed pounds heavier than it should have when she received it from him.

"W-with N-Naruto." Hinata's reply was so broken up that she was sure Neji hadn't understood.

Neji didn't reply immediately, which told Hinata that Neji probably _had_ understood. Scenarios swirled through Hinata's mind, all of them the "worst case scenario" type of ones. One scene was Neji banishing Hinata from the household and her leaving in waterfalls of tears with nowhere to go and no place to call home.

"It's late. Why don't you get some sleep?"

Hinata almost didn't understand the words. Going through her mind, were the things that she would take with her when she was banished. She looked up at Neji, so shocked that she forgot to be guilty. His pale eyes showed flickers of worry but they were so faint that Hinata could have been imagining them. By now, Hinata was sure that if she thought she had imagined them, then they were probably there. Sixty-seven percent of the time. Hinata placed her untouched water on the pale marble counter, got up, then bowed deeply and rushed out of the kitchen. The whole way, her mind was a large black hole; any thoughts daring to come in were sucked away before Hinata could analyze them.

Hinata changed into a nightgown and tucked into bed. Sleep was elusive and that left Hinata tearing herself up the entire night.

Naruto took the long way home. He skirted around the outsides of town, taking as much time as he could. He wasn't sure why he was avoiding home. _Would it make tonight's experiences any less real?_ Naruto was almost disbelieving of what had happened. It just seemed so surreal. It was as if he was two people now: the "old" Naruto and the "new" Naruto. Naruto wasn't sure whether it was a half-and-half division, or whether one version was overtaking the other. In fact, he was sure one version _was_ taking over, probably the new, careful, analytical Naruto; because, would he even have been thinking about all of the confusing, controversial things; so deeply, at that, if he had been the "old" Naruto, who probably would have moved on to thinking about a late night dinner? _How did I change so quickly?_ Naruto wondered. Or had it been so gradual that Naruto himself hadn't noticed it? _Have the others noticed it?_ Naruto wasn't quite ready to think about what others would think. _Since when am I so self-conscious anyway?_ _Since the "new" Naruto took over? _Naruto was sure that he would never regret it—if the result of Hinata was the "new" Naruto, then he would love them both with all his might. Hinata was the best thing since ramen…And Naruto didn't say that lightly… There was something about Hinata's innocent smile, her wide lavender eyes, her pale, sweet-smelling skin… Naruto was surprised that he had even noticed the slim shadowy figure in front of his door. He was so involved in his thoughts. That was probably why it had surprised him so much, seeing the figure. _Huh? Why would a girl be at my house in the middle of the night?_ It was definitely _not_ Hinata. _How could it be? I dropped her off at her house. Besides… _Naruto knew her figure: long black hair, posture, anywhere. The girl in front of his door turned towards him. Naruto immediately recognized the short, spiky hair.  
>"Hi, Naruto." The girl looked into his eyes. Naruto was a bit taken aback by her intense green gaze, shadowed in the dark night.<br>"Hey, Sakura." Naruto put a hand behind his head, his elbow sticking straight out. He shifted his weight a little self consciously. "Wh...what's up?"  
>The girl looked down at her hand, which was in a small brown satchel. (Naruto knew it was brown because he recognized it as the new one Sakura carried around a lot.) He applauded himself on his observation, then pulled himself back into the conversation.<br>Sakura pulled out a small piece of paper and looked at it as if reminding herself of something. She then looked down at the ground, apologetically, and maybe even a little embarrassed. Naruto arched an eyebrow, even though he knew Sakura couldn't see him. It was too dark and Sakura was too focused on the floor. _Sakura isn't the one who's supposed to be embarrassed around me! I'm usually the one always messing up and playing around._  
>"Here you go, N...Naruto," Sakura said, her voice cracking and faltering all over the place. It almost hurt Naruto to hear it. <em>Is she sick?<em> Naruto wondered. _Maybe I should ask her. If she is, why is she out in the middle of the night, anyway? Won't that make it worse?_ Sakura put the paper in his hands. That sparked new curiosity in him.  
>"What's this?" he asked. He turned it over in his hands. He tried to tilt it too catch the light of the faraway lamppost, but it didn't work. His brain sparked in dissatisfaction.<br>"It's...a shopping list," Sakura said. "Or...the beginning of one, anyway."  
>Naruto's eyes turned into two horizontal lines each, of confusion and disbelief. It was dark, yeah, and Sakura couldn't see it, but it didn't stop him from it. <em>What? I don't make shopping lists. Since when…<em>? "How do you know this is mine?"  
>"It's obviously your handwriting," Sakura said, her voice changing a little, at the start of a different subject. She sounded more like herself, and with that, Naruto was able to see how much her voice was different <em>before<em>. She sounded so unsure of herself before. Now, she was confident again, and met his gaze. For once, (or at least one of the very few times) Naruto did not know what _exactly_ to say next. The fact that he had to think about it was a little disturbing to him, as well. They were heading to a huge canyon in the conversation. Naruto wasn't sure how they would cross it to start the conversation again.  
>"Well!" Sakura said, a little too brightly. Naruto felt dark blue lines on his forehead, as he let out a small white cloud of exasperation. This was exactly what he should have been expecting. They tried to <em>normal-<em> leap over the canyon, not even ninja-leap, and Naruto was left falling down, down, down, while Sakura barely made it. "I'd best be going. It's so late," Sakura continued, too quickly.  
>"Yeah," Naruto agreed halfheartedly. He wasn't sure why Sakura had to leave so suddenly, but he couldn't see why she would need to stay. He couldn't see much of anything, really. <em>Why is it so dark?<em> Naruto asked himself furiously, though not realizing how stupid the question was. It was nighttime after all. Normal people's brains were asleep at that time. "See you later, Sakura-chan." Sakura had turned to leave, but her head turned back when Naruto had said her name. Somehow the moonlight or the lamplight reached the pink haired ninja's face, shining on her lips. It spotlighted a soft, appreciative smile. 


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Sakura forced herself to walk away slowly. _I can't run away_, she thought, even _though that would have been a normal thing for me to do, had it been afternoon time..._ (She was busy as a medic ninja.) But during the dark hours of night, when everything was slow and calm, except the racing of her heart; and when there were no duties to distract her completely, an odd vulnerable feeling overtook her; especially just now when she had been so close... She just didn't know how to get rid of it.

Sakura looked up at the sky. Thick black-gray clouds were inching along ominously. _Is that what my heart feels like now?_ Sakura wondered. She felt melodramatic, but pushed that aside, and realized that the sky did reflect what she was feeling in her heart. She remembered Naruto's warm, embracing scent and felt sharp adrenaline-induced jitters in her stomach. A brief view of Sasuke-kun appeared in her mind—first as the aloof young boy, then as the still cool and aloof but older teen. Yes, Sasuke still radiated total suavity and ruthless grace. Who could deny it? Somehow, Sakura couldn't imagine why she had liked the dark haired Uchiha so much. It was a weird and greatly ironic that she thought that now, when Sasuke-kun had basically been her whole life before; but she really couldn't remember why she had! She knew very well that her whole life had been dedicated to Sasuke, winning his heart, then winning him back...up till now.

Sakura felt a small chuckle almost escape her lips but it seemed to freeze in her throat just before it could make sound. _Instead of a dark-haired-Uchiha-lover… when had I become a blonde- ramen-loving- guy kind of girl?_ Sakura knew that she could ask away until the end of forever and she still wouldn't know the answer. Maybe she was keeping it purposefully out of her own reach.

Sakura pushed back her long jagged bangs behind her ear. _Why do I care about the answer? _Sakura wondered. _Or for that matter, the question?_ Sakura loved the poking, adrenaline rush she got when she was around Naruto. _The only thing I would change..._Sakura narrowed her leaf green eyes just at the thought. Just one minor detail. Sakura had the image in her mind: perfectness, meekness, and totally unsuspecting. With a slight scowl, Sakura walked into her house, and then jumped a few feet in surprise at the bright artificial light that greeted her. She widened her eyes, guilt taking over all her functions, the most obvious one was the dark pink blush that rushed across her face. Her parents' disapproving stares were enough to light a candle all the way across the room, Uchiha-style. She mentally prepared herself for her excuses and pleadings for forgiveness. Her mind and heart weren't in it though. Both were several blocks away, at a small apartment that stank of ramen...

Naruto watched the pink haired medic ninja leave. Then, he opened his apartment door and slipped inside. After clicking the door shut, Naruto turned on a lamp, then changed into some sleep worthy clothes. As he undressed, he glanced at the small note. The paper seemed unusually white as if it was from a brand new pack, or something. The choppy hand writing looked unmistakably like his. Reading the list-well not a list, since all it _was _was one word-he agreed with Sakura that it was his handwriting… Yet, he couldn't remember ever writing anything like it. It certainly didn't seem like something he…

_Of course it is!_ Naruto thought. _This is a great idea_. …. I'll do it tomorrow though… He walked into his apartment, and shut the door behind him. His mind was turned off by now, and made his way to the bathroom to wash his face. Then he lazily pulled off his shirt and collapsed onto his bed. Sleep came easily, and his dreams were filled with a girl with lavender eyes and blue-black hair.

Ino was tired of her dusty, dark organizing job behind the front desk in the store by now. With every blink, her mind thought that more dust particles were sticking to her eyes. She would have loved to organize the flowers in the display and in the shop, but she had already done that. Twice. And her parents didn't have time to do it… and someone had to do it…

The door opened with a loud _CHANG_. Ino knew immediately that it was a man coming into the store. _It had felt like a masculine touch, _Ino thought. Even Tenten didn't barge into the store like that. She could if she wanted to, obviously, but she didn't ever want to- and that was the point. She got up and turned around, and after she greeted the customer, her thoughts were miles away from Tenten in an instant.

It was Naruto, in a blue and orange jacket, with his signature lopsided smile. He looked around the store curiously.

"Hey, Ino, what's up?"

His hair was slightly rustled, in a windblown way, as if he had run to get here. For all she knew, he could have.

"Just finished a phone call," Ino lied.

"Oh- did I interrupt-"

"No, of course not," Ino said. _Awwww, _Ino thought, trying not to grin crazily at Naruto. "What can I help you with?"

"U m… flowers…"

Ino smirked, but on the inside she was adoring. "Really… you don't say?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, maybe rearranging his hair, or maybe just in embarrassment. "That was a pretty dumb answer, wasn't."

Ino didn't reply, hoping that her silence would answer, "yeah, duh," when actually she was like, "no, not really, well, yeah, but it was cute."

Naruto roamed the store for a few minutes. Ino felt the aura becoming exceedingly awkward. She wanted to say something… but why was she at a sudden loss for words? She heard Naruto's footsteps stop. _Is he done already? _ Ino wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad.

"What did you find?" Ino asked, freeing herself from behind the desk. She found him in front of the purple-light lavender, really- azaleas, his eyes glazed over.

"The Azaleas. They are very popular." Ino said. Even though they weren't the most at all-they were an odd choice.

"Okay," Naruto said. He picked up a lavender colored bouquet. He followed Ino to the cash register. She rung up the order, and held out her hand for the money. He dropped a few coins into her hand, the coins chilled but his hands warm. Ino felt goosebumps on her arms. _Okay, that was unnecessary!" _she told herself. She split the two bouquets and put them in separate plastic covers.

"Why are you splitting it up?" Naruto asked.

"There's two," Ino said, freezing in mid-action. "I can combine them if you want." She almost said sorry, but Naruto's simple word stopped her momentarily.

"Oh." He said, Simply, plainly. Ino inhaled softly.

"Keep the other one," Naruto said. He held out his hand, apparently for one of the bouquets.

Ino wanted to clear her throat, but she didn't… want to? Would it have seemed rude? "What?"

Naruto kept his hand held out-impatiently, maybe. "You keep the other one. Give me one of them."

Ino followed his order shakily. "I charged you for two-"

"INO!" Naruto cried. The blonde jumped on the inside. "I'm giving it to you! Stop being so much trouble."

_Do you like trouble? _Ino wanted to ask, but she was so embarrassed by now. Naruto turned around, and in his swagger, made his way to the door. He waved over his shoulder nonchalantly and exited the store, with a twang of the bell.

Ino was breathless. She looked down at the light-lavender petals. She brought her nose to them. _Hahhhhhhh! _she sighed in her head. When was the last time she had gotten flowers? Last week? No… farther than that… When was the last time she had a boyfriend? … Last month? Um… Ino blinked. Suddenly, she couldn't remember much of anything. Nothing, except electric blue eyes and a tan body full of swagger.


End file.
